January 24, 2010

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21

In the middle of our bible reading challenge here at St. Andrew’s, the lectionary has provided us with a wonderful set of readings on which to reflect and pray. The overarching theme in Nehemiah 8, in Psalm 19, and in our reading from Luke’s Gospel is the scriptures themselves — and in particular, the question of how we use and interpret the scriptures.

The psalmist begins by making it clear that the scriptures are of utmost importance for God’s people. Of course, from the psalmist’s perspective, at least 500 to maybe 1000 years before the birth of Jesus, the scriptures consisted of the Law of Moses, perhaps as gathered together into the Torah — the rough equivalent of the first five books of our bibles today.

The psalmist declares that the Law of the Lord is perfect. God’s decrees and precepts and ordinances are sure, and right, and true altogether. He thinks very highly of these texts and speaks of them with utmost respect and admiration and praise. And it’s not only that God’s commandments are true and right from the perspective of a wise and powerful God. The psalmist … Read more »

January 10, 2010

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Isaiah 43:1-7
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Be not afraid. I go before you always.
Come, follow me, and I will give you rest.

Through the words of the prophet Isaiah, God says to us, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

These words from the prophet were familiar to me when I read them on Monday and began to think about what I might preach today. This text comes up in the lectionary every three years, and a few years ago, when I learned the song that the choir sang this morning, “Be not afraid”, the words of the prophet became especially meaningful for me.

Be not afraid. I go before you always.
Come, follow me, and I will give you rest.

Perhaps you can think of a time when you were afraid. I am thinking of the day that I discovered a small lump in my breast. I am remembering … Read more »

December 24, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Isaiah 9:2-7
Titus 2:11-14

Gwen: Well, it’s Christmas Eve tonight, and just like every year, we’re celebrating… blah, blah, blah… Jesus was born… blah, blah, blah… I’m sure you’ve all heard the story a million times before. Maybe we should just skip to the Christmas prayers so we can get out of here.

Amanda: Um, Gwen, is something wrong? Don’t you want to preach about the wonder of Jesus’ birth into our world?

Gwen: I don’t know, Amanda… what would I say? We’ve all heard the story before about how Jesus was born, and the angels sang, and the shepherds came all excited to visit the baby. Babies are nice and all… but how can we keep getting excited about a baby that was born more than 2000 years ago?

Amanda: Don’t you think Jesus’ birth has relevance for us today?

Gwen: I can see how Jesus’ birth would have been exciting back then. I mean, Jesus came into a time and place when people really needed his help. His own people, the Jews, were living under Roman rule and things were really tough for them.

The pax Romana was … Read more »

December 20, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Luke 1:39-45

There are two important stories in the first chapter of Luke about Mary before the birth of her son, Jesus.

The first story is the one depicted briefly in the presentation this morning. An angel shows up in Mary’s life and tells her that she’s going to have a child. It will be a special child from God, and God will make him a great king. Mary, amazingly, just asks a couple of clarifying questions, and then agrees to the plan. “I am your servant,” she says to God, “Let it be with me according to your word.”

And the second story about Mary is the one that I just read — the one where she goes to visit her relative Elizabeth, who also happens to be miraculously pregnant.

When that angel messenger suddenly appeared with his very strange news, I can only imagine that Mary must have been in shock. It’s not the kind of thing that happens to a young woman every day, and it was certainly the kind of news that would take some time to sink in, to consider what it meant, and to figure out how to deal … Read more »

December 13, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Zephaniah 3:14-20
Isaiah 12:2-6
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:7-18

The message of the prophets on this third Sunday in Advent is about the joy of salvation. Like Israel before us, we have a reason to rejoice, because God has decided not to hold us accountable for our sins and failings, but to demonstrate grace and offer us forgiveness. As the prophet Zephaniah wrote to the people of Israel, “The LORD has taken away the judgments against you.” We are called to rejoice and exult with all our hearts. We are invited to draw spiritual water from the wells of salvation, and to do so with joy and thanksgiving.

This is, of course, a message that is not reserved for Advent or Christmas. We are reminded of God’s grace and forgiveness over and over in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and Sunday after Sunday, we hear the assurance of God’s abiding love and grace for us, God’s own wandering children.

But the message of grace in today’s scriptures comes hand in hand with a challenge. The prophet John is preaching about the One coming into the world from God. He is calling the people to prepare the way … Read more »

December 6, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Malachi 3:1-4
Luke 1:68-79
Philippians 1:3-11
Luke 3:1-6

I haven’t been experiencing a great deal of peace lately. I don’t mean that I’ve been literally participating in conflict, and I don’t mean that I’ve been troubled about my own relationship with God. But I haven’t been experiencing much peace because there has been some stress and anxiety in my work as a minister among you and within this presbytery.

I’ve been a minister for six years now, and before I became one, I never imagined that part of my work would include the job of closing churches. I thought of ministry as preaching and leading worship, as teaching and praying and providing pastoral care. I thought of ministry as reaching out and trying new things, imagining new ways of sharing the gospel in word and action with a world that is lost and confused and in need of God’s help.

The image of John the Baptist is very appealing. I can imagine myself (or the church as a whole) as the one crying out in the wilderness of our world. We cry out both warning and welcome. We warn that things must change — people must turn their hearts and their … Read more »

November 29, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36

Today we begin a new year in the calendar of the church. And as we mark the first Sunday in the season of Advent, we jump from last week’s celebration of Christ as our King and Sovereign, back into the experience of waiting for Christ to come into our world. A week ago, we declared Christ as our Lord, and acknowledged his presence, power, and authority over all things. Our Christ candle shone brightly in our worship, and we were challenged to go out and shine that light into the world.

But today, we lit only the Candle of Hope. The Christ Candle is not shining today. And not because Christ is not present with us… I certainly believe that he is. As much as Christ was King last Sunday, Jesus is our Lord today. But in Advent we take time to acknowledge the fact that although Christ has come, Christ’s presence and power is not yet felt throughout the whole earth. Although the light of Christ shines, there are still many dark places in our world and within our lives.

As you may remember, Advent means “coming”. Christ came among us … Read more »

October 11, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Mark 10:17-31

I have an image in my mind of an elderly man standing beside the grave of his 90 year old sister. Most of the other mourners have started to make their way back to their cars, perhaps to find shelter from the cold, Saskatchewan, winter wind. But this man seems stuck in his position beside his older sister. He is bent low, with his hand on the casket, and he’s praying and crying quietly.

I can see that he is a man of faith. His lips are moving with the words of a prayer he has repeated many times, and every once in a while he makes the sign of the cross and straightens up, as if he is ready to leave. But then he bends again, as if he can’t bear to leave her there. Some younger family members come over to comfort him, and he quietly cries “why? why?” as the tears begin to stream down. He’s the last of his generation still living, and this loss seems too much for him.

“It was her time,” “She’s at peace now,” he hears from those around him. But their words are too easy. Perhaps letting … Read more »

October 4, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Job 1:1; 2:1-10
Psalm 26
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Today’s readings are not easy ones. We hear the psalmist, begging for God’s help, claiming innocence, and hoping that God will be on his side and help him. And we have Job — a man who is described as “blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil”. But though Job was a good man, his story indicates that his righteousness did not protect him from harm. Despite his faithfulness, he was struck with many troubles — losing his possessions and his family, suffering physical pain and illness and isolation.

It seems to me that the words of the psalmist match up with our human perception of what is right and fair. If God exists, and if God is both powerful and loving, then we should expect to be able to ask for blessings and receive them. If we work hard to be good and faithful to God, then God should reward us.

The psalmist expects this kind of justice from God. He writes: “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering… I … Read more »

September 13, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Proverbs 1:20-33
Psalm 19
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38

As you know, the bible contains many different types of literature within its many books. And the book of Proverbs is part of the type of biblical material called “wisdom literature”. It is an amazing book full of wise sayings and advice for many people in many situations. And it begins with an image of wisdom personified.

Wisdom is out in the street, in the squares where all the people are passing by, and she’s shouting. Woman Wisdom has chosen the busiest corner at the entrance of the city gates, and she is calling “How long, O simple ones? How long will you love being simple? How long will you hate knowledge? I have called to you, and made my words known to you. I have offered to share my wisdom with you, and you have ignored me.” Wisdom is sick and tired of being ignored, and she seems to be giving up on the people who don’t have any use for her. “It’ll serve you right!” becomes her message. If you ignore wisdom, things won’t go well for you, and you’ll have to deal with it all on your … Read more »

August 9, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Ephesians 4:25 — 5:2
John 6:35, 41-51

The day of a baptism is a wonderful day to reflect on and to celebrate the church — the family of God — the Body of Christ that we all belong to together. Today we are welcoming a new member of our big family. Grace Anne is joined to Christ and to all of us (to our congregation here at St. Andrew’s, and to the whole Christian church throughout the world).

I would love to be able to simply celebrate that… to say “Welcome Grace Anne, to this big, happy, healthy, wholesome family of God!” and let that be all that I say. But like most families, our Christian family is not always a happy place. Our family is prone to dysfunction. We often do recognize that we all belong to the same family, but we don’t always get along, or talk to each other, or act like we belong together. We’ve had lots of disagreements in our Christian family over the years, and lots of our members are still feeling angry or hurt or disappointed. Some have moved out. Others have given up on trying to get along, and mostly … Read more »

August 2, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13a
Psalm 51:1-12
Ephesians 4:1-16
John 6:24-35

Back in February, I helped to lead an ecumenical retreat for women in ministry here in Saskatoon. The Eucharistic theme of our time together was taken from Henri Nouwen’s book, “Life of the Beloved”. We explored how our lives (as women in ministry) are taken, blessed, broken, and shared for the life of the world, as we participate in Christ’s own ministry today. As part of our time together, we decided that it would be both fun and meaningful to make bread. I had never made bread except using a bread machine, but some of the other women were at least occasional bread bakers, so we gave it a try.

We gathered in groups of 6 or 7 around tables in the dining room at Queen’s House, and took turns adding ingredients, mixing, kneading, sharing stories, and laughing a lot. And much to my surprise, our bread turned out both beautiful and delicious. We ate it together the next morning during our closing worship. It was an ecumenical “holy meal” with plenty of bread and wine to share as we celebrated our brief time together and began to think … Read more »

July 5, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Psalm 48

The time for the festival was approaching, and God’s people were on the move again. For centuries, since the time that God had led the Hebrews out of Egypt and into this new land, Jerusalem had been thought of as a very special place.

Though the tablets with the ten commandments were once carried in a special box as God’s people travelled through the wilderness, it had now been a long time since Solomon had built the great temple in Jerusalem. There was a home for God, a place for the people to worship, a place where they could meet with God and know with certainty that God was there.

And so the people came. God’s people lived all over by now — in Jerusalem, in the nearby towns and villages, and even further afield. Most Jews wouldn’t go up to worship in the temple every day or even every week. Instead, they would gather in local synagogues to read from the Law and the Prophets, to interpret the scriptures, to worship God, and to encourage one another.

But Jerusalem was still a very special place — a holy place where God’s presence was sure. Jerusalem was … Read more »

June 28, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Psalm 130
Mark 5:21-43

At least once, almost every day, I meet someone who greets me by saying: “Hello Amanda. How are you?” And without a pause, I naturally respond, “Fine thanks. And you?”

A few months ago, I caught a horrible cold that kept me off work for a couple of days and feeling terrible for several weeks. And I noticed several times during that illness, when someone would say, “Hello Amanda. How are you?” I automatically answered, “Fine thanks. And you?” If I had thought about the question even for a moment, I would have had to admit that I was no where near “fine”. My head hurt, and my throat ached, and I was so exhausted that I was ready to drop. But “Fine thanks. And you?” was what came out of my mouth. And I don’t think I paid much attention when my conversation partner chimed in with their own “I’m fine also.”

It’s amazing how much time we can spend together with friends, neighbours, and fellow church members without having a lot of meaningful conversation. We can exchange a lot of pleasantries and waste a lot of time talking about the weather, and when … Read more »

June 21, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

1 Samuel 17:32-49
Psalm 9:9-20
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41

When we read the stories of the bible, one of the first questions we often ask is “What kind of story is this?” Is it something that really happened historically? Or is it a mythic or symbolic story shared to teach us a deeper truth?

A good example would be the parables that Jesus told. He told a story about a prodigal son — how he took his inheritance and spent it in wild living — and how he later came to his senses, realized the mistakes he had made, and returned home to find himself welcomed and embraced by his forgiving father. Of course, we know that the story is not historical. It is told not to teach us “what happened” but to show us “what God is like” — loving, forgiving, and ready to celebrate over each of his children who return to relationship with him.

Today’s Gospel story is one that most Christian bible readers would put in the category of history. It’s a story about something that happened to Jesus and his disciples when Jesus decided it was time to cross over to the other side of … Read more »

June 7, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 29
Mark 3:13-19

There are many stories in the scriptures about Jesus sending out his followers to do ministry in his name. Our Gospel text today is one of these stories that give us insight into our mission as Jesus’ followers today. One of the interesting things about this text is that it lists the names of the people who were sent, and it gives them a new title.

Most of the time, Jesus’ friends were called “disciples”. You probably remember that “disciple” comes from a Greek word meaning “one who follows and learns”. In fact, today’s passage begins with Jesus inviting some of his “disciples” to go up on a mountain with him. And then he chooses twelve of them to receive a new title and a new task. The new title he gives these twelve is “apostle” — from another Greek word meaning “one who is sent”. And the only other thing in the passage, besides the listing of the apostles’ names, is a sentence about the work Jesus was sending them out to do. He sent them out “to preach and to force out demons”.

When I study a passage like this one, I … Read more »

May 24, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Acts 1:1-11
Ephesians 1:15-23

Today is Ascension Sunday, the day that the church celebrates Jesus’ ascension into heaven. After Jesus had died on a cross and been buried in a tomb, we believe that God raised him from death, and he appeared to many of his friends and followers. But the risen Jesus did not just keep hanging around with the followers of his way. The last chapter of Luke’s Gospel and the first chapter of the book of Acts tell the story of his ascension into heaven.

He spoke a few final words to his friends, and then he was gone… up into the sky, into heaven, carried away by a cloud. That’s the way the story’s author describes Jesus’ departure. We may not want to take the description literally today, but we get the point that the early Christian community wanted to convey: Jesus was no longer physically present among them, but they did not believe that he was dead and gone, rotting in his grave. They believed that he was gone to be with God, seated at God’s right hand (like a prince beside a king) and that he would rule the world with all … Read more »

May 17, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

John 15:9-17

I’ve been thinking about LOVE all weekend. A young couple in our congregation, Greg Mergen and Kim Lund, got married yesterday so I got to preach on the classic wedding text of 1 Corinthians 13 — the “love chapter”. You know the one. In the middle of it, the apostle Paul describes what love is:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

And whether it’s the Corinthian Christians trying to love each other despite their differences and conflicts, whether it’s married couples trying to love each other through all the ups and downs of life together, or whether it’s any of us Christians trying to put love into practice in our lives, it seems like an impossibly high standard to live up to.

We do try though, don’t we? We try to get along with our co-workers. We try not to snap at our kids. … Read more »

April 26, 2009

Genesis 1:26-31a
Psalm 8
1 John 4:7-21
John 13:12-15, 34-35

I’ve never had a guitar lesson, per se. I learned to play a few basic chords on the guitar and to strum along to the beat of the music when I was 17 and I was working in the kitchen at the Presbyterian camp. The first song that I learned to play on the guitar was this one… sing along if you know it…

Lead me, Jesus; I will follow,down the dusty pathways, all along the sea. Teach me, Jesus, to be loving: your disciple I will be.

I’ve sung that song so many times over the years since then. And whenever I sing it, I wonder about what it might have been like to be one of Jesus’ disciples… one of his first disciples who travelled with him along the dusty roads, beside seashores and through little villages… shuffling through the crowds, and stopping to touch and to pray for the sick, listening and questioning, wondering about home and family, anticipating the next day’s adventure, sharing food & wine among friends and strangers, and meeting all kinds of unusual people. I imagine what it must have been like for his disciples not to know what … Read more »

April 12, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Mark 16:1-8
Acts 10:34-43
1 Corinthians 15:1-11

If you open up a bible to the end of the Gospel of Mark, you will find that its ending is unclear. The earliest manuscripts finish with chapter 16, verse 8: “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

But our Gospel translations have two added endings. The shorter one simply adds these words: “And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.”

The longer ending goes on for eleven more verses in which Jesus appears to Mary, then to two disciples, and then he appears to the eleven disciples and commissions them to proclaim the good news to the whole creation. Finally, he ascends into heaven, and the narrator assures the readers that the disciples did indeed go out to proclaim the good news everywhere.

These extra endings are not believed to be from the original manuscripts of the Gospel, but they were added by editors … Read more »